Artificial hand



J. J. EVERSON.

ARTIFICIAL HAND. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 10. I919.

1 4 1 6 1 '80 Patented May 16, 1922.

Q96 I Giza ring tion, in connection with the I accompanying J y Jenn a. :nvnnson or annw'ron, 'mnssaonnsnr'rs- ARTIFICIAL HAND.

Application filed June 10,

To all whom it mag concern:

' Be it known that 1.*UOII1\TJ. "Evnnsoisa citizen of the Unitedstates, anda resident of Newton, Massachusetts, '(whose post-office address is Calaot'Stret, Newton, Massachusetts,) have invented anlmprovem'ent in Artificial Hands, of v' hich'the' following descripdrawings, is 'a specification, like letters on the drawingsrepresenting like parts.

This invention relates to"artificial limbs and particularly to artificiathands and arms. The invention is especially concerned with artificial hands of the general construction shown in my priorfapplication Serial No. 2 ,944 filed August'2f1918. This eon'stru'ctlon ofartificial hand hasproved in practice to be asubstantial 3 advance in i thisart and the present invention aims to further improve'my earliericonstruction.

It is a particular object of the' invention to devise an artificial hand of'the' character above mentioned which can i be economically manufactured and willipossess even greater "utility thanmy former construction-and to devise a novel connection between hand and forearm with the aid ofwhich: thehand can be quicklyandeasily adjusted into dif ferent positions.

Totheseendsthe invention involves novel features of construction of t-helrand itself designed to improve :it from an =assembling and manufacturing *standpoint, "a "novel mounting for the thumb, and 1a: novel connection between the -hand :and forearm. These and other features'of the invention which will hereinafter appear will bereadily understood from the following description when read in connection witlnthe *accompanying drawings, in'which- Figure 1 is a'rearview ofr-a hand partly brokenaway to illustrate the interior constru'ctions; I

Fig. -21is a a hand;

Fig. '3 is a side --elevation=of the parts shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the :parts shown in Fig. 2 ,and

Fig. 5 is a plan'view of the base tliat-supports-the other parts of the hand.-

The hand construction illustrated" is preferably of the general character illustrated inmy priorapplicati'on above designated and also in my pending application-Serial No.

front elevation of a skeleton of 182,440 filed July 24., 1917. As will be seen from the drawings, the fingers .2 and. thumb heavy, spring wire, the the fingers'being' designated at tandthat ranged to 1919. Serial No. 303,045.

0 are each provided with a resilient'frarne member which, stiffens the fingers and holds them substantially in the desired position,

while still enabling them to be bent 'orto yield. away from their normal positions to grasp. an article. These frame members preferably consists of a relatively stiff, framemembers for for the thumb' at 5. A covering of yielding -material, preferably heavy wool felt, encloses the framejmembers and isshape'd'to simulate a hand with thumb and "fingers. The felt preferablyis partly molded to form the fingers and thumb and the edges are abutted together and sewed, the seams preferably will be partially concealed. The palmpor- -tion of the hand includes a coiled spring 6 extending longitudinally of the hand and aryield toward the back o'f'the'hand Specification of'Letters Patent. .Pg tentgd May 16 i being made between the fingers so that they so that it cooperateswith thefingers'toenable the hand better to gripan article.

The construction so far described is very similar to that disclosed in application SerialN'ofltT-fit above designated. 'Iirthe present construction, however,-a-very differ- -ent*ari'ange nent is'employed for securing the wire members l, 5'a'nd cOiled-spring-G in their operative positions. In the present arrangement these parts are an anchored in a base piece 7 which may conveniently consistof an aluminum casting havingholes, indicatedat 8, drilled therethrough fromside to "side to receive the ends of the frame members 4, another hole' 9 drilled parallelto theholesS t'oreceive the end of' thecoiled spring 6, and a hole 10 drilled longitudinally therethrou'gh from end to end to receive the thumb frame member 5. Thedioles 8 are arranged in pairs, each pair merging into a recess ll, Figs. 4; and 5, 'having'high walls which serve to support the finger frame members against 'lateral .movement. The ends ofithe' finger frame memberstare forced through thetholes '8' and the tipsxare turnedoverslightlyto prevent: them from being withdrawn, while the ends of the frame members 5.:and coiled spring 6' are-"simply in serted in their: respective holes 9-.and: 10,-;the covering for the hand operating to *secure these parts Since the hole 10 extendsithrough thetbase piece '7 from one end to theother,-'the1; thumb frame members may beinsertedrin. either end of this hole and,consequently,thes-same against accidental removal.

base and wire reinforcements canv be used a 60 v position of adjustment,

for either a right or left hand. The finger frame members aresubstantially alike, differing only in minor bends and angles of deflection, and the same thumb frame memher is used for either a right or left hand,

it being merely necessaryto insert it in one end or the other of the base piece 7, depending upon whether the hand is to be a right or left. The upper wall of the llOle 10 is broken away at each end for a ways to pro vide a short slot having shoulders 12, as indicated in Fig. 3,, which extend back substantially to the point 13, Fig. These shoulders allow the thumb 4; to have a limited swinging movement back and forth about the aXis of the hole 10 in a plane transverse to the plane of the palm of the hand and thus facilitate the adjustment of the thumb to cooperate with the other fingers in holding articles of different sizes. This swinging movement obviously is yieldingly resisted by the covering for the hand. Preferably the fingers are tensioned or biased toward each other and the thumb is tensioned toward the first finger so that small articles can be forced between the fingers or between the thumb and the first finger, and held thereby. In order to limit the extent to which the fingers can be forced apart the outside finger frame members 4 may be bent slightly, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4:, to receive a light binding wire 14.

It will readily be understood that the construction above described is very economical to manufacture,particularly since the same parts are used for both a right and left hand, the assembling operations being greatly facilitated by the peculiar arrangement provided for securing the frame members in position.

The forearm 15 may be of any suitable or convenient construction and in order tosecure the forearm and hand together in a manner that will permit the angular adjustment of the hand with reference to the forearm, or the removal of the hand from the forearm, the base 7 is provided with a shank 16, preferably of cylindrical form but centrally reduced or grooved circumferentially. The forearm has mounted therein atapered draw bolt 17 positioned to engage the groove inthe shank 16 and arranged to be drawn into firm clamping engagement with the shank by a thumb screw 18 threaded on to the end portion of the draw bolt where it projects at one side of the forearm. It is evident that when the thumb screw 18 is loosened the draw bolt 17 will be slackened thus permitting the hand to be turned about the axis of the shank 16 into any desired and that the hand can then be clamped securely in this position by turning up the thumb nut 18. This arrangement thus provides a very simple and reliable means that may be conveniently operated by the wearer of the limb to adjust the hand and secure it in adjusted position.

The operation of my improved device is as follows: the resilient fingers and thumbs are securely anchored in position in the base block 7 as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4:, covered with felt and leather to simulate a gloved hand, and the shank 16 inserted in a suitable socket in the forearm 15 and retained therein by the locking member 17. The pressure of the member 17 on the shank 16 may be adjusted by the thumb nut 18, allowing said hand member to rotate freely to the forearm. or preventing relative movement of these two members.

VVhenit is desired to grasp an article, such as the handle of a wheelbarrow, the shoulder of the wearer is lowered to bring the tips of the resilient fingers below the handle. As the wearer straightens up, the entire hand is raised,-bringing the resilient fingers 4 into engagement with the handle, on one side thereof, and the palm spring 6 into engagement with the other side of said handle. The fingers and palm spring are thus pressed outwardly on either side of the handle, and, owing to their spring. nature, they tend to grip the handle in a manner similar to a natural hand. I

What is claimed as new, is

1. An artificial hand having a thumb and fingers each consisting of a frame member, a resilient palm comprising compressible toward the back of the hand, and a base piece in the wrist portion of said hand in which said wires and said coiled spring are anchored.

with respect coiled spring 2. An artificial hand having fingers and a thumb each consisting of a frame member, a base piece in the wrist portion of said hand, said linger frame members being anchoredin said base piece and projecting from one side thereof, the said thumbwire also being anchored in said base piece and projecting from one end thereof, and a resilient palm for said hand comprising a coiled spring anchored in said base piece and projecting from the side thereof opposite to that from'which the finger frame members project and extending substantially longitudinally of said hand.

3. An artificial limb comprising a hand having fingers and a thumb, said fingers and thumb each including a frame member and a covering for said member, a base in the wrist portion of said hand supporting said frame members, a forearm, and co-operating parts carried by said forearm and base for removably securing said hand to said forearm.

RACHAEL L. CLARK} 

